48 NLP AT WORK
THOUGHT PROVOKERS1 Read the following passages and determine which filters each
author is using.
a I'm someone who enjoys life to the full. I play squash, I write,
I work full time as a salesperson, and I have a young family
who keep me busy in any spare time I have! I get a lot of
satisfaction from what I do. I set myself goals and I know by
my own standards when I have achieved them. I enjoy travel,
particularly to Europe, and I love eating out.
bI can be a difficult person, or so others tell me. I can usually
see the alternative point of view. I enjoy a good discussion,
some would say argument. I like perfection. If something isn't
quite right it irritates me. I spend a lot of time working and I
am meticulous in the way I go about that. I am a programmer
and the work I do requires attention to detail and the ability to
see immediately if something is wrong.
cI am a good listener. People come to me with their problems. I
have always had this sort of role, not only in my work life but
also with my friends. I have spent most of my life in the same
part of England. I have always liked the people here. I can
recall some very special occasions that I have spent with friends
in the past. I have always been a bit indecisive about what I
might do next. I have always let others push me into new
situations or jobs, and have tended only to change if I have
been dissatisfied with what I was doing at the time.
2Take a letter or email that you have received recently. What filters
do you detect in the language the writer has used?
3Take a letter or email that you have written recently. What filters
do you detect in the language you have used?
4 Compare the filters you are using in response to a communication
from someone else. To what extent have you matched/mismatched
the filters the other person is using?
5 Select one of your key customers. Take examples of their behavior
and writing and identify some of their key filters.
6Take a context in which you want to appeal to a wide audience,
one in which people will have a wide range of filters. Identify how
many filters you are using in the way you are presenting yourself,
your products, and your services.